Are you there, Florida? It’s me, Margaret.

Player utilities

Judy Blume and her younger self pose in front of her childhood apartment building in Miami Beach.

Credit:

Alicia Zuckerman / Photos Courtesy of Judy Blume

Share

Judy Blume mostly grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but for two years during elementary school, she lived in Miami Beach. In the 1970s, she wrote a book about that time in her life, “Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself,” which she calls her most autobiographical book.

Judy in Miami Beach in the late 1940s.

Credit:

Courtesy of Judy Blume

In the book, Sally finds herself transplanted from New Jersey to Miami Beach just after World War II. It was a time when so many Jewish families from the Northeast came to spend the school year in Florida’s warmer climate.

Sally was 10 and discovering bugs and the beach and boys. As it turns out, that was Judy Blume’s childhood, too. “Those two years were the most important two years of my childhood,” Blume says.

Sign up for our weekly global security newsletter CRITICAL STATE. Get your weekly fix of foreign policy without all the stuff you don't need – it’s top news and accessible analysis for those who want an inside take without all the backroom bs.

Sign up for The Scan

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. To learn more, review our Cookie Policy. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and Privacy Policy.